Sandisk Announces 2012 Line Of Super Fast Solid State Drives

By: Edward Jackson (Editor In Chief)

Consumer Drive Delivers Faster, More Responsive Computing Experience and Extends the Life of Existing PCs

SanDisk Corporation, a global leader in flash memory storage solutions, today announced a high-performance solid state drive (SSD) for the retail channel. The SanDisk Extreme SSD is up to 10 times faster than a 7,200 RPM hard disk drive, enabling computer users to quickly boot and shut down their systems, launch applications faster and reduce wait times. The drive is also more durable and power efficient, delivering a reliable computing experience while maximizing battery life.

Extreme Performance:

The SanDisk Extreme SSD can boot a PC in less than 16 seconds and quickly shut down the system, delivering a significantly improved user experience to desktop and notebook users. For gamers, the SanDisk Extreme SSD can launch applications in a fraction of the time and reduce in-game delays by generating environments faster during sequence transitions. This is particularly important during massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs).

“Computer wait times are becoming a thing of the past thanks to SSDs,” said Kent Perry, director, product marketing, SanDisk. “Our SanDisk Extreme SSD delivers virtually instant boot and shutdown times along with faster application launches. It’s a huge improvement to the computing experience.” 

The SanDisk Extreme SSD delivers up to 83,000 maximum random write Input-Output Operations Per Second (IOPS) and up to 44,000 random read IOPS. High sequential read performanceof up to 550 megabytes-per-second (MB/s) and up to 520MB/s sequential write speed deliver faster, more responsive computing.

Extreme Reliability:

The SanDisk Extreme SSD is more reliable and durable than a hard disk drive and is backed by SanDisk’s reputation for quality. The drive contains no moving parts, decreasing the risk of data loss due to shock and vibration, and its mean time between failure (MTBF) greatly exceeds that of hard disk drives, giving users peace of mind that it will retain their files for the long term.

Additional Benefits:

The SanDisk Extreme SSD consumes 30 percent less power than a hard disk drive while generating less heat and noise, making it an ideal solution for notebook users who want to maximize their battery life while computing on the go. The drive provides cost savings for IT departments or DIY enthusiasts who want to extend the life of their existing PCs without buying an entirely new system. The drive is easy to install—simply plug it into a computer’s SATA port.

Pricing and Availability:

The SanDisk Extreme SSD is available worldwide now in 120 gigabyte (GB) and 240GB capacities carrying MSRPs of $189.99 and $399.99 respectively. A 480GB version of the drive will ship later this year with an MSRP of $749.99.

Achieves up to 500/420 MB/s Sequential Read/Write Speeds; Available In A Variety of Capacities and Form Factors

The SanDisk X100 SSD is available in capacities up to 512GB and utilizes multi-level cell (MLC) technology, a SATA 6Gb/s high-performance interface, advanced multi-streaming features and tiered caching technology. The drive offers up to 500/420 megabyte per second (MB/sec) sequential read/write speeds, and enables a user to copy a 4GB high-definition movie in less than 10 seconds*. In addition to the standard 2.5 inch form factor, the X100 SSD also comes in mSATA and customized thin form factors to address the emerging ultra-thin laptop market. SanDisk offers a wide variety of configuration options, including standalone and dual drive caching solutions.

“With the introduction of the X100 SSD, SanDisk now offers OEMs a complete selection of SSD storage choices,” said Kevin Conley, senior vice president and general manager, client storage solutions, SanDisk. “From the smallest BGA form factors of the iSSD to the economical lower power U100, all the way up to the high performance and high capacity points of our new X100, SanDisk offers a solution to meet the needs of notebook, desktop and ultra-thin laptop manufacturers.”

The SanDisk X100 SSD achieves long-term reliability through robust, continual background error checking and advanced NAND recovery mechanisms. The drive is available now for sampling to PC manufacturers and production-volume shipments.

Specifications:

Performance

• Up to 500/420 MB/s sequential read/write speeds

Capacity

• 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB

Form Factor

• Cased 2.5 inch 7mm or 9.5mm, mSATA and customized form factors

Interface

• SATA 6Gb/s

Power Consumption

• Active Power (Typical): 150mW (@ 3.3V)
• Standby Mode (Typical): 75mW (@ 3.3V)

Reliability

• MTBF up to two million hours

Target Platforms

• Ultrabook, notebook, and desktop computers

We’re definitely excited about these speeds. With Ultrabooks set to dominate this year, what are the chances that Sandisk might be in some of those fancy chassis?